Pa. woman gets life term in death of infant twins

PHILADELPHIA—A Philadelphia mother has been convicted of third-degree murder in the poisoning deaths of her 1-year-old twins and sentenced to life in prison.

Stacey Newkirk, 42, poisoned the babies, Adam and Eve, in a rage in May 2012 after finding out that her husband was having an affair, prosecutors alleged.

Newkirk left notes detailing the crimes near the children's bodies, Assistant District Attorney Peter Lim said at Monday's bench trial. One note to her husband said, "I hope this makes you feel 1/1,000th of the pain I feel."

Lim also said she told police that she gave the infants sleeping pills and then drowned one and smothered the other, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported ( http://bit.ly/1cxScLM).

Had Newkirk not waived her right to a jury trial, she could have faced the death penalty, Lim said.

Defense attorneys who said their client was "extraordinarily remorseful" didn't contest the evidence but sought a conviction of third-degree rather than first-degree murder.

The judge imposed a life prison term on one third-degree murder count and 20 to 40 years on the second, with both terms to be served concurrently.

Newkirk, who wept quietly after she was sentenced, was acquitted of trying to kill her 4-year-old daughter after defense attorneys said a toxicology screening showed no evidence of poison in the girl's system.